Thursday 3 March 2011

At home with the J and Ps

There's been a fair few grey and miserable days recently round our way.  What better way to spend such a day than to do a bit of crafting.  Even Mr J and P got in on the act.

For Xmas, I bought Mr J and P this:



Magical Menagerie by a Japanese artist, Junzo Terada. 

You get 20 animal models on good quality, extra strong card and you simply pop out the pieces and fit the matching slots together.  No scissors or glue needed! 

A penguin in its flat form

So simple, in fact, that even a total dim-wit could manage it.  NOT that I'm suggesting in any shape or form that Mr J and P is a dim-wit but you get my drift.  It's sooooo easypeasy.

Take a look at what Mr J and P and Little Miss put together:


The cat and its ball has to be my favourite

Cute monkey complete with bunch of bananas

A penguin (left) and peacock (right) in case there's any doubt!

Sweet ickle birdy wirdies

Cool huh?

As this activity only took minutes to do, the pair of them decided to do some mosaicing.  Two Xmases ago, I bought a mosaic kit for kids whereby you can decorate small pieces of MDF to make cool coasters.

This is what they did:

Mr J and P's on the left; Little Miss' on the right
When I casually mentioned that the orange one had the look of a crocheted granny cushion cover , Little Miss J and P remarked "Hopefully, not one of yours, mum".  The cheek of the child!  She is, of course, referring to my retro creation pictured here once more for your delectation and if you fancy a good laugh:


If you're wondering what I was doing amidst this hive of activity, I was sewing two single candy stripe sheets (one slightly damaged) to make one double one and, with the remaining material, I made two pillow slips.  Oooh, I do like a bit of candy stripe bedding.

On a completely different note, the lovely Elizabeth from MakingGoodUse sent me a wooden handled kitchen knife to add to my vintage wooden handled kitchen utensil collection (thank you so much, Elizabeth).  I now have a whole 3 items in my collection!


I am, of course, on the lookout for more.  The problem is how to display them.  I thought I would hang them up in our kitchen but none of them have hanging holes.  Mr J and P has offered to drill a hole in the handles.  You can imagine what I said to that, can't you? 

I was also the lucky winner of a giveaway by Rachael from CleverCheshireCats .  Isn't this crocheted pincushion stunning?  I love it!


One last thing, get a load of Mr J and P's monsterous parsnip:


Fnar, fnar...
 And with that, dear readers, I'll love you and leave you.  TTFN.

21 comments:

  1. I love that animal book, I want one. That cat is tremendous, a work of art.
    How fab to have three red handled vintage utensils! They definately need to be displayed.
    Love Mr J & P's parsnip, you must be very proud! xxx

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  2. I actually really like your cushion Loo!

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  3. Those animal models are lovely - I want them too! That's a whopper of a parsnip!

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  4. Love the book I have seen a few Japanese crafting books on Google but non to buy.
    The parsnip reminds me of those roots in Harry Potter :)
    What about a Magnet strip for your utensils until of course you get too many.

    Cate x

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  5. Well, first a photo of you and now one of the mysterious Mr J and P. Whatever next? A photo of a huge parsnip perhaps? Oh wait, you did that!!!

    LOVE your blog, Loo. I always have to come straight over as soon as I see you've posted.

    Sarahx

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  6. Am stealing both those rainy day ideas for my own oiks - thanks (except I would have to resist the urge to micro-manage and do the coasters to my own specifications!)

    Magnetic knife strip thing to hang your utensils?
    Lakota x

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  7. Currently I display all my odd kitchen gadgets clustered together in old planters and mugs. If you wanted to hang them on the wall you could you tie a piece of ribbon/string or wrap wire around the handles to make a 'loop' to then hang on a nail? That way you wouldn't have to ruin the integrity of the tools.

    Are you just looking for red handled utensils? I come across them fairly often here in Chicago so let me know if you would like to do a trade in the future!

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  8. How clever you all are, the animals are great. I thought MrJ&P's parsnip was a weird sea creature but of course I wasn't wearing my glasses.

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  9. Ooohhh i love the animal book, what great designs and colours etc really groovy ;-)) they did do well bless them ;-)Wow thats some parsnip i love to raost mine in the oven with honey on them they taste gorgeous. Have a lovely weekend, dee x

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  10. Those animals are lovely, the birds are my fave.
    What's the parsnip's destiny? It's a huge one for sure.
    Lisa x

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  11. Blimey what a big one ;) (the parsnip).

    Love the animals - they look fab all together.

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  12. I quite fancy that animal book - it's gorgeous. As for the parsnip - what can I say, it's a whopper!
    xx

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  13. That animal crafting book looks amazing. I'm going to order Monkeychild a copy as that's right up her street! That is one freaky parsnip too - must have been feeding on some super strength manure! x

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  14. Good god, that's a big (and slightly disturbing) parsnip!

    The Magical Menagerie book is utterly wonderful. Where did you buy it from? I feel the need to buy a copy, even though I have no idea who I'd give it to.

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  15. oh the animal book is very cute indeed, how fab that they put together with no glue etc required!

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  16. The animal book is great, love the patterns! What a crafty creative family you are. Not really sure what to say about that parsnip! :) xx

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  17. The magical menagerie is so cute, I think I want it hehe! And what cute coasters. x

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  18. Oh Loo, you do make me laugh.
    The book looks great, I may have to buy one for my lot.
    I hope you have a great weekend.
    x

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  19. Your rainy day ideas are definately on my 'ideas to shamelessly pinch' list.

    That parsnip is smashing!! Thank you for the birthday wishes...oh and the flowery thingy next to the mug hug is my sewing tin. It's an Emma Bridgewater (I think hearts & flowers tin) found it on Ebay.

    ax

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  20. What a whopper of a parsnip. I love parsnips, only problem is I loved them roasted in butter, salt and black pepper....yum. The book is fantastic, I love the monkey I will have to look on amazon for that book. Have a lovely weekend xxxx

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  21. Good grief that parsnip would make your eyes water wouldn't it LOL

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